Torah and Jewish Idea > Torah and Jewish Idea
does the Tanakh explicitly talk about drugs?
Zenith:
I'm having a bit of trouble finding "drugs" in the Tanakh. It is obvious that the drugs should be regarded as bad, but is there somewhere written explicitly about them? I guess they were used in antiquity in Europe and middle-east.
So, do you have any knowledge about it?
Chai:
Yes , it is obliged such as kiddush and drinking wine on shabbat. (alcohol is a drug) but remember a litttle is ok , too much is bad, as we saw in the story of Noah.
muman613:
--- Quote from: Chai on February 20, 2011, 02:43:29 AM ---Yes , it is obliged such as kiddush and drinking wine on shabbat. (alcohol is a drug) but remember a litttle is ok , too much is bad, as we saw in the story of Noah.
--- End quote ---
I will add this:
While it is an obligation to drink a little wine for Shabbat Kiddush, and to drink till we feel it on Purim, the Torah does not promote inebriation. The Torah teaches that when the wine goes in, the secrets come out...
Here is a discussion of this topic:
http://www.ou.org/torah/tt/5760/toldot60/specialfeatures.htm
--- Quote ---
SAYING BLESSINGS OVER A CUP OF WINE
In our parsha, Yitzchak requests "Serve me, and I will eat of my son’s meat, so that my soul may bless you”. Yaakov goes beyond his father’s request and serves wine as well (Bereshit 27:25). This suggests a special connection between wine and blessing — one already discernible in the account of Malchitzedek, who precededhis blessing of Avram by bringing bread and wine (Bereshit 14:18-19).
This connection is formalized in the halakha by the requirement for a “kos shel berakha”, a “cup of blessing”. Our holiest and most solemn moments are celebrated over a cup of wine, which is a requirement at kiddush (OC 271, 289) and havdala (OC 296); at brit mila (YD 265) and chuppa (EHE 62); and at the invitation or “zimun”to grace after meals (OC 182).
In Jewish as in Western culture, wine has a deep and powerful symbolism. Wine releases our inhibitions and reveals our hidden selves. This is expressed in the Hebrew proverb, “Where wine goes in, secrets come out” (niknas yayin, yetze sod - Eiruvin 65a), as in the ancient Latin proverb “In wine is truth” (in vino veritas).
In the non-Jewish world, this inner self has been considered a shameful one. Wine was the center of pagan orgies such as the Bacchanalia, where people sought to free themselves from the strictures of custom; and conversely, abstinence among non-Jews is often considered a sign of piety, as we see in the Moslem and Mormon custom to refrain from alcohol entirely so as not to risk freeing up precisely these dangerous human impulses.
We have a different opinion of our true nature. By paradoxically connecting our happiest and holiest moments to wine, we make a powerful testimony to our faith in the inherent goodness of man. We demonstrate that we are not afraid of exposing our innerness, but on the contrary, we are anxious to do so, and we are sure thatwhen our innermost selves come to the surface, they will be perfectly suited to moments of the greatest sanctity.
BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIERS
We can detect an additional, related theme in the halakha’s attitude towards wine. By opening up our inner selves, wine has the ability to break down barriers between human beings.
For instance, according to almost all Rishonim, the special blessing said on a change in wine, “hatov vehametiv”, is said only when drinking with others. (BY OC 175.) Like the same blessing on happy events, which is said only when the joy is shared (OC 222), the blessing on the joy of wine is really recited on the fellowship which wine creates.
Another example of the connection of wine with fellowship is our custom to say grace over a cup of wine only when there are three men (OC 182, based on Zohar Chadash 87:3). And in the same halakha where we learn that wine is a prerequisite for rejoicing of Yom Tov, we learn that sharing with others is a prerequisite forthis rejoicing. (Rambam Yom Tov 6:18, OC 529:2 in SA and Beur Halakha.)
ABUNDANCE, NOT ABANDON
At the same time, the halakha imposes very strict and elaborate rules of decorum on a kos shel berakha. (OC 183.) This demonstration of restraint ensures that we want the wine to release our most elevated impulses, and not our basest ones.
Rabbi Asher Meir is in the process of writing a monumental companion to Kitzur Shulchan Aruch which beautifully presents the meanings in our mitzvot and halacha. Rabbi Meir - who have givien a series on Business Halacha at the Center - will be giving a weekly shiur at the Israel Center on Tuesday mornings. See Back Page,page II for details.
--- End quote ---
Zenith:
I know that the Tanakh allows drinking of wine, but does not allow getting drunk.
However, consuming "drugs" like cocaine, puts you in a similar state as the drunkenness (I've never gotten high but this is how I've understood it to be): you cannot think normally anymore, you may do and say ridiculous things, be a ridiculous man, etc.
While the wine allows you to be more relaxed and yet not be drunk, I don't think the same can be said about cocaine.
muman613:
On a more strict note:
The Kohen is not allowed to serve in the Avodah in the Temple if he is drunk. A drunk Kohen is liable for death.
We also learn from the story of Aarons two sons, Nadav and Avihu, who were incinerated while trying to perform an incense ceremony which Hashem did not command, while they were intoxicated... We learn that we should not be intoxicated when we daven to Hashem.
Also from the story of Chanah, who prayed to have Samuel, when she was davening with sharp kevannah/intention, she was moving her lips. The Kohen saw this and believed that she was drunk and told her to go home because it is not proper to daven while intoxicated... Of course she was not intoxicated, and she was very intent on having a child who would be dedicated to Hashems service, and ultimately building the Beit HaMikdash...
And the last principle which runs counter to using substances is that almost all substances cause damage to our bodies, and our minds, and we are commanded not to do damage to our own bodies. Although this principle is important many scholars even have a hard time dealing with it, and persist in smoking cigarettes despite knowing the health risks...
References:
http://www.aish.com/tp/i/moha/48923142.html
--- Quote ---THE WINE OF ADAM AND EVE
How could they have allowed themselves to drink again at the dedication ceremony, and then offer the "strange fire"?
The Zohar explains that the wine which was drunk by Nadav and Avihu was the wine which Noah drank, and indeed it was the wine which Adam and Eve drank!
This teaching follows the opinion that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was actually a grapevine, and the sin of Adam and Eve was partaking of this forbidden wine.
The Leshem, one of the greatest modern day Kabalistic works (written by Rav Shlomo Elyashiv, the grandfather of the famous posek Rav Shalom Yosef Elyashiv), explains that Nadav and Avihu were great religious leaders, and they were trying to bring about forgiveness for the sin of Adam. This is the reason that they used "Adam's grapes." They wished to rectify his sin.
.
.
.
--- End quote ---
http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/382401/jewish/Chanas-Prayer.htm
--- Quote ---Chana cried out to her Creator because she hadn’t been able to conceive. She cried, she wailed, silently, but until she would be heard. From the outside she appeared to be drunk for only her lips were moving but she made no sound.
When confronted by the High Priest she explained that she was far from drunk. "No my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before G-d."
--- End quote ---
http://www.aish.com/tp/i/moha/48923142.html
--- Quote ---THE WINE OF ADAM AND EVE
How could they have allowed themselves to drink again at the dedication ceremony, and then offer the "strange fire"?
The Zohar explains that the wine which was drunk by Nadav and Avihu was the wine which Noah drank, and indeed it was the wine which Adam and Eve drank!
This teaching follows the opinion that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was actually a grapevine, and the sin of Adam and Eve was partaking of this forbidden wine.
The Leshem, one of the greatest modern day Kabalistic works (written by Rav Shlomo Elyashiv, the grandfather of the famous posek Rav Shalom Yosef Elyashiv), explains that Nadav and Avihu were great religious leaders, and they were trying to bring about forgiveness for the sin of Adam. This is the reason that they used "Adam's grapes." They wished to rectify his sin.
.
.
.
--- End quote ---
http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/382401/jewish/Chanas-Prayer.htm
--- Quote ---Chana cried out to her Creator because she hadn’t been able to conceive. She cried, she wailed, silently, but until she would be heard. From the outside she appeared to be drunk for only her lips were moving but she made no sound.
When confronted by the High Priest she explained that she was far from drunk. "No my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before G-d."
--- End quote ---
http://www.aish.com/tp/i/moha/48923142.html
--- Quote ---THE WINE OF ADAM AND EVE
How could they have allowed themselves to drink again at the dedication ceremony, and then offer the "strange fire"?
The Zohar explains that the wine which was drunk by Nadav and Avihu was the wine which Noah drank, and indeed it was the wine which Adam and Eve drank!
This teaching follows the opinion that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was actually a grapevine, and the sin of Adam and Eve was partaking of this forbidden wine.
The Leshem, one of the greatest modern day Kabalistic works (written by Rav Shlomo Elyashiv, the grandfather of the famous posek Rav Shalom Yosef Elyashiv), explains that Nadav and Avihu were great religious leaders, and they were trying to bring about forgiveness for the sin of Adam. This is the reason that they used "Adam's grapes." They wished to rectify his sin.
.
.
.
--- End quote ---
http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/382401/jewish/Chanas-Prayer.htm
--- Quote ---Chana cried out to her Creator because she hadn’t been able to conceive. She cried, she wailed, silently, but until she would be heard. From the outside she appeared to be drunk for only her lips were moving but she made no sound.
When confronted by the High Priest she explained that she was far from drunk. "No my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before G-d."
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---
What accounts for this distinction? Because "man's inclination is evil from his youth" (Bereishit 8:21) - "from the time that he stirs to go out of his mother's insides, the urge to do evil is put in him" (Rashi). At this ripe age, the yetzer hara is already pushing man into acting in a way that places his life in danger. The yetzer hara has no such desire when it comes to the lamb, but the baby it does wish to kill. We see that the yetzer wishes to take us not only from the Next World but from this world as well.
How many people do we know who, fully aware of the associated dangers, continue to smoke? Who is not aware of the damage drugs can cause, yet people continue to use them? Why is this so? This is the yetzer hara's attempt to hasten man's departure from this world. If he does not succeed in removing us from this world, then he tries to at least make sure we do not enter the Next World. The yetzer hara is our biggest enemy, and we should take care not to mistake his identity for our own.
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